Published Tuesday, February 26, 2008 5:22 PM
Updated Tuesday, February 26, 2008 5:23 PM
John Miller and Jean Popowski work together to organize the North Summerville precinct.
Democrat buzz ups precinct turnout
The excitement exhibited in the Democratic presidential primary has carried over into county party politics.
Saturday Democrats gathered at three locations: County Council Chambers in both Summerville and St. George and Sand Hill United Methodist Church to reorganize. Party reorganization is a chance for the political organizations to get together by precinct to elect a president, executive committeeman and county convention delegates.
According to precinct numbers from county Chairman A.J. Glover, Democrats reorganized 33 precincts – up six from two years ago. County Republicans reorganized 39 precincts last year.
“The turnout surprised me,” said Glover, who is not running for another chairman’s term at the county convention next month. “It’s good because it brings new people. The primary has helped us out. It drew people to what was going on.”
At the Summerville location, which was for all lower county precincts, the two candidates gunning to be Glover’s replacement stumped to more than 100 people –– most of whom will cast votes as delegates at the county convention to decide the next chairman next month.
Nancy Seufert is a member of the county’s executive committee representing Ashley River.
“One of the things that needs to be done is to reach out and bring in voters,” Seufert told the assembled crowd.
She spoke of the need for the party to mobilize the base.
“The Democratic party has the best people and the best ideas,” she said.
Steve Youmans serves as executive committeeman for the Irongate precinct.
“We have a real ability to change people’s views on what Democrats stand for,” said Youmans, touting open and honest government.
“We don’t need to put people up for office just to put someone up. A losing Democrat is still a losing Democrat,” he said.
One of the main things Glover attributes to the renewed enthusiasm for the party is the chance to send a county voter to the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August.
“If we are lucky, we’ll get one. There definitely won’t be more than two from Dorchester County,” said Glover of the county’s possibility of landing a national delegate at the state convention in May.
The county party will meet at Ridgeville Town Hall at 7 p.m. March 18. First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe will be the keynote speaker.
There, beyond the chairman race, will be two other hotly contested party seats. First vice-chair Marty Turney is challenging incumbent state executive committeeperson Susen Shapiro for the woman’s seat. Presently, David Rison, a professor emeritus of Political Science at Charleston Southern University, is being challenged by Aaron Brown, Summerville’s mayor pro-tem –– a non-partisan office –– for the male state executive committee seat.
Glover has said the priority is to hold onto their two county-based seats: Pascoe is being challenged by Summerville attorney and former solicitor’s office prosecutor Ben Lafond, a Republican, and state Rep. Patsy Knight, a Democrat, is being challenged from across the political aisle from former Rep. George Bailey, a Republican, whom Knight first beat for the seat two years ago.
No county Democratic race is expected to have a June primary fight.
Contact Ryan Castle at 873-9424 ext. 216 or rcastle@journalscene.com.